Cypher Chronicles, vol. 43-2017

Cypher Chronicles, vol. 43-2017

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Superheroes and Horror in a Dark Eighties

Top Gun is in theaters. “Papa Don’t Preach” is on the radio. Halley’s Comet is in the sky, and Iran-Contra is in the news. At school, you’re a regular kid—a jock or a nerd; a metal-head or a New Wave rocker. But when you put on your mask, you become . . . someone else.

Unmasked is a setting of superheroes and horror from Dennis Detwiller, a master of both. And it’s a 192-page campaign setting for the Cypher System, with new character types, descriptors, and foci, a complete setting, and adventure material. And it’s available now in hardcover and PDF!

Want to GM, but Uncertain How to Get Started?

It’s not too early to make a New Year’s resolution. Join us in January for New Gamemaster Month, and we’ll help you take the plunge. It’s easy! The program begins the week of January 7th, and you’ll be a GM by early February. Look for more details in the weeks to come—but for now, feel free to join the New Gamemaster Month Facebook group and start connecting with other gamers who will take the journey into gamemastery with you!

It’s possible @shannagermain and @charlesmryan invented a new word. (With a little help from @brucecordell and @rayvallese). Follow us to catch, among other things, snippets from MCG playtests and other activities!

Love light sabers? (Seriously, who doesn’t?) The awesome Drew Baker, who’s done a LOT of official Star Wars art, is doing a series of oil still life paintings of light sabers. They’re beautiful, but hurry—the Kickstarter comes to an end tonight (December 1st)!

If you’re looking for an immersive, world-spanning mystery game with untold oodles of awesome physical props hiding arcane clues, you’ve got to check out The Wilson Wolfe Affair.

The recent Numenera 2: Discovery and Destiny Kickstarter campaign funded three new decks and a cool box to store your MCG deck collection. What, you don’t have any of our decks? Then you must not realize how time-saving, inspiring, and useful they are! Unless you have more GMing time and ideas than you can use (and does anyone have more time and ideas than they can use?), these decks are a lifesaver.

The Numenera Intrusion Deck serves up random intrusions—combat, social, or miscellaneous. Perfect for when your player rolls a 1 and you’ve just used your last planned intrusion idea. Let the pace falter while you try to think up something new and clever? Or just do something lame, and regret it five minutes later when the perfect intrusion hits you? Or just draw a card? (Or three, and pick your favorite result.) It says Numenera in the title, but the Intrusion Deck is great for any Cypher System campaign!

Charles Ryan

Charles M. Ryan has written or contributed to titles in nearly every class of tabletop game—board games, card games, trading card games, miniature games, and roleplaying games—over a 25-year career in the game industry. He has also served as the global brand manager for Dungeons & Dragons and headed up the marketing department at the UK’s Esdevium Games, one of the world’s largest game distributors. He is the Chief Operating Officer at Monte Cook Games.